Google this week announced a second generation Chromebook model from Samsung, the Series 5 550, which dispenses with the previous generation Chromebook's Atom N570 processor and replaces it with a dual-core Celeron B867 chip sporting Sandy Bridge DNA. That's well and good if you're into Chromebooks, except that companies like Asus and HTC aren't tripping over themselves trying to launch second generation Chromebook models of their own.

Google and Samsung on Tuesday announced a new Chromebook and Chromebox computer. Both machines are powered by Google’s cloud-based Chrome OS and are built for speed. Samsung’s newest Chromebook, the Series 5 550, features a 12.1-inch display, an Intel Core processor, 4GB of RAM, an HD Camera, two USB 2.0 ports and six hours of continuous battery life. The Chromebox resembles Apple’s Mac mini, and adds four additional USB 2.0 ports. Both come equipped with built-in dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Gigbit ethernet, however the Chromebook also has a 3G connectivity option. The Chromebook Series 5 550 starts at $449 and the Chromebox can be purchased for $329 — the two devices are available no...

LG’s Chromebook plans have apparently been outed, with Microsoft revealing the company is working on – or at least considering – using Google’s Chrome OS platform to create a cloud-loving notebook. The fast-booting OS was mentioned alongside Android in Microsoft’s triumphant patent announcement earlier, in which the software company said the new agreement covers “LG’s tablets, mobile phones and other consumer devices running the Android or Chrome OS Platform.”

When Google launched its Chromebook initiative for business and education customers, potential clients weren’t given very much flexibility when it came to financing. Basically they either chose to agree to a three-year subscription fee, or they could look for something else. In a rather rare change of heart, Google has reversed the three-year requirement, and are now giving both sets of customers the option to buy the machines outright with one year of support instead. Clients will have the option to renew web-based admin, phone support, and hardware for years two and three, but it is no longer required.

Google Chromebooks will soon get a big speed upgrade in return for a slight discount, insiders claimed Wednesday. The Chrome OS hardware will reportedly go to Core i3 and beyond processors and, to make the price balance work, will get a 10 to 20 percent discount from Intel on the chips. Existing partners Acer and Samsung were reported by Digitimes as onboard and might be joined by ASUS and others as soon as early 2012.
The upgrade would come as a tacit admission that Chromebooks weren't necessarily working in their current price field. Although they cost $50 to $100 more than a netbook, they don't really have better performance, insiders said. The two systems out so far also supposedly have ...

Does it hurt your brain to look at the picture above? That'd be Chromium OS -- running on a MacBook Air! Pretty much the definition of "worlds colliding," this feat is brought to you by Hexxeh, whose most recent mind-warping project put Chrome on an iPad. The platform-mixing maestro says in this case everything works except Bluetooth, owing to a lack of support. But hearty souls who seek to follow in his footsteps, take heed: there's no dual-boot option, and you will lose OS X -- so perhaps this is a job for your now outdated model. Click the source link for 14 easy steps to turning your svelte laptop into Frankenstein's monster, but sadly, there's no mention of where to buy that hopelessly ...

Motorola began issuing the Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) update to Wi-Fi XOOM owners on Tuesday. The patch reportedly adds support for the tablet’s SD card slot and also features a new screen zooming feature that will allow users to resize mobile applications so that they fit the screen appropriately. Android 3.2 will also add support for smaller tablets with 7-inch screens, many of which currently run older versions of Android such as Gingerbread. Google also announced that it is releasing parts of the Android 3.2 source code to the Android Open Source Project.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab on Sprint may have just received its update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but there are many Tabs across the world that have yet to see the update. It looks like users in the UK will be able to enjoy the benefits of Gingerbread in only a few weeks if new information from Samsung is to be believed.
According to information obtained from a Samsung rep by Recombu, Galaxy Tabs in the UK that are not tied to a specific carrier will be able to update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread "within the next few weeks." It will require users to update through Samsung's KIES desktop software. As far as those Galaxy Tabs that are tied to networks, only O2 revealed any information, and it hope....

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 has started receiving its portion of the Android 3.1 Honeycomb OTA update July 5th, judging from an Acer Germany Facebook page posting. We heard about this update back in May, although the promise was for the first weeks of June; still, beginning of July is not too shabby either.
The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is a 10" Honeycomb slate with nice aluminum back cover and all the bells and whistles one would expect from a self-respecting Android tablet.
At last check it also comes cheaper than most Android tablet offerings, selling for around $450 at places like Best Buy or Amazon, so whoever is the lucky owner of the Iconia Tab A500, the thought that the Android 3.1 Honeycom...

The Samsung Galaxy Tab seems like it has been left in the dust by its sexier Android tablet counterparts – the Motorola Xoom and its successor, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9. The latter tablets are sporting Honeycomb, a version of Android meant for large screens, while the more portable Galaxy Tab with its 7-inch display is still rocking Froyo.

Acer's Android 3.1 (codenamed Honeycomb) update for its Iconia Tab A500 tablet has leaked out. It first appeared on the Chinese website bbs.gfan.com While this update isn't official in the sense that Acer has not yet released it via its own channels, it is the real deal. The leaked update.zip file supports multiple languages and including Google Apps. This means that Android 3.1 ROMS like HoneyVillian and Minimalist 3.1 are no longer required for Iconia Tab A500 owners.
The update brings resizable home screen widgets, support for a variety of new input sources and motion events, the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) API for audio, and other improvements that Motorola Xoom and Asus Eee Pad T...

Some might argue that ASUS already has an ARM-powered Android laptop in its inventory thanks to the Eee Pad Transformer, however the company's now been identified as planning a more spacious 13-inch notebook device, whose power and pricing could well be even more attractive than the Transformer's. We should naturally be wary of the source here, DigiTimes having a record that's as patchy as the grass at Wimbledon after the first week's play, but the Taiwanese rumormonger says ASUS has already made launch plans for this 13-incher and will be using "NVIDIA's processor" inside.

Verizon Motorola XOOM owners have been experiencing Android 3.1 Honeycomb for some time now, but it appears that the latest version of the platform is being rolled out globally to other XOOM owners as well.
Motorola announced today through their European Facebook page that Android 3.1 Honeycomb is being pushed out to units outside of the US. From the sound of it all, European owners of the XOOM can expect to see it arrive sometime over the next several weeks. Moreover, release notes for the update will be made available in each region – albeit, its functionality will also vary by region. With Android 3.1 Honeycomb, it features things like enabling the XOOM’s microSD card slot, certain widget...

Just a few months after unleashing what it called Italy's first tablet, Olivetti is turning its attention to what might be Italy's first tablet upgrade -- the OliPad 110. Much like its predecessor, th...

Good news for the Galaxy Tab owners in South Korea as Samsung has released the firmware update for its first Android-powered tablet. The new software is available for all versions of the device, which...

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